A beam Of Light In A Cold, Dark Night
by Skylair Hernandez
Summary: Aiofe, a wayward 15 year old girl, now a rape victim is left alone in the world, her only company is her little bundle of cells inside her and the ghosts that plough through her mind every night as she sleeps. Luckily for Aiofe, help can be found in the most unlikely places. OC.
1. Chapter 1

_**Okay, so here is my first ever post in the Twilight fandom. **__**  
Thank you to my wonderful Beta and best friend, Laura. **__**  
Aiofe is an OC, as is Reuben. **__**  
Chapter 1:**__  
__  
__  
__"Aiofe, I'm leaving." __  
"What? Leaving?" __  
"Yes, I'm going home. I cannot stay with my uncle forever." __  
"What will happen with us? When are you going?"__  
"You ask too many questions. I leave first thing tomorrow morning." __  
"That's so soon. Will I see you again?" __  
"I hope not. I love you, Aiofe, I really do, but you need to get on with your life, as I need to get on with mine." __  
"So this is it, you go home tomorrow, and just forget all about me? I thought we had something here!" __  
"Oh Aiofe, don't be silly, I could never forget about you. You're so special to me." __  
"But you're leaving me, and you just said-"__  
"Aiofe, don't you see? We still have today. Let's make it the best day of our lives; one we will never forget." He reached out and caressed my face, his fingers soft and warm. I leaned into his touch, trying to memorize his smell, and his __heat.__ His hands trailed down my neck until his arms were securely wrapped around me. He pulled me forward into his embrace and leant in, pressing his lips to mine. The kiss was soft and gentle at first, but became deeper and rougher quickly__, __his hands suddenly possessive on my waist. He walked us backwards so my back was pressed against a tree trunk,__the bark digging into my spine painfully__. I__ jerked my head to the side in protest, flattening my palms against his chest. "__Reuben __, stop. You're hurting me."_

_He angled his head to the side, where he could reach my neck with his mouth, sucking a mark into my neck greedily. "I'm not going to hurt you, my love. Just relax; we're just having some fun. Having a day we will remember." His hands slid lower down my back, until they were touching my butt.__  
"__Reuben __, don't, please. I'm not comfortable with this." I pleaded hopelessly, tensing up. _

_Reuben __ continued to kiss my neck, and murmured into it, "Just trust me, Aiofe. Wound I ever hurt you?" Too quickly, he hooked his fingers into the belt loops of my shorts and yanked them down my legs, along with my panties before I could push him away. He dragged his fingernails along my flesh, exposing me to the forest and /his hungry eyes, even as I cried out._

"_Reuben __! Please stop, please!" _

Aiofe jerked awake, tangled in her blanket and coated in sweat. Her breath came out laboured and panting, her chest heaving as she stared emptily up at the ceiling. She sighed in relief when she saw she was in her room, safely in her own bed. As her heart slowed down its frantic gallop, she reached down and touched her stomach, it definitely felt slightly larger than usual and slightly hard. _I'll tell him today. _She had made this silent promise to herself multiple times, but this time it was real, this time she had planned it all out in her head.

Aiofe pulled the blanket off her legs and placed her feet firmly on the cold, wooden floor. Yawning fiercely, she plodded in the direction of the bathroom, pausing outside her dad's door; his snoring could be heard, vibrating through the plaster and wood between his mouth and her ears. Satisfied, she wandered into the bathroom and shut the door behind her. Humming quietly, she put the plug into the bottom of the tub and flicked the taps on. She went to relieve herself while she waited on the tub filling up. While she sat down on the toilet, she realised how common an occurrence this was, waking up in a state from the same dream, going for a bath to rid of the sweat and then trying to persuade herself to tell someone. Somehow, for god knows what reason, she never did.

**_0*&*0_**

The park was buzzing with life, like an ant hill, children swarming all over the toys and parents running after them with sun cream and tissues. Aiofe and her dad found a vacant bench and sat down on opposite ends. Aiofe sat sideways with her back on the armrest; she tucked her legs in underneath her.

Her father reached down and unclipped the dog's leash and the Labrador immediately bounded towards a strangers' picnic.

Joseph turned to his daughter; she was shifting about on the bench agitatedly. "Aiofe? What's going on?" He snapped. "You're attracting attention, we're strictly here on business, remember?"

Aiofe nodded. She had gone over this hundreds of times in her head, although in her head there wasn't her 6 foot 8 drug dealer father in front of her. "Dad, can I tell you something?" She ventured.

He was looking over her shoulder at a black van that had pulled up on the curb, his wild eyes eager, distracted.  
"Sure kid, make it quick; that looks like the merchandise van." Clearing her throat, Aiofe nodded and gulped down her fears.  
"Dad, a while back, that day Reuben told me he was leaving, he ra-" Her dad abruptly put a hand on her shoulder and roughly shoved her, and she fell onto the gravel beside the bench with a yelp.

She felt a sting in her elbow and looked at it, blood ran down her arm in a steady trickle and pieces of gravel were stuck in the small wound. Angrily, she looked up at her dad and glared at him, her look faltering at the oddly blank expression on his face. She started to pick herself up from the ground and in the sudden, unnatural silence she heard a soft _click. _It didn't sound too far away, perhaps five of six the noise, she stilled, and continued to watch her dad, who stood with stiff shoulders and wide eyes; he put his hand on the back of the bench and started to get onto the floor, his movements carefully slow.

There was a terrible, loud, rackety noise and pieces of metal flew everywhere. From her vantage point on the floor, Aiofe could see children falling from climbing frames and running frantically to their mothers' arms. People fell all around, clutching wounds and bleeding. Aiofe looked up at her dad again, lost. He was shouting something to her, but her daze clouded her hearing, and she stared blankly at him. His eyes goggled, his arms flew forwards, something else flew forwards too, it splattered, wet and warm across her face. Her father pitched forward and fell ontop of her, twitching and moaning very gently. The noise stopped and car tyres squealed in the distance. She pushed her fathers' now still form off her torso; he rolled so his face was on the floor. She sat up slowly and looked down at him; there was a massive wound on the back of his head, bits of shrapnel lay in blood. Still. His heart had stopped, he was dead.

Aiofe stood up and looked around, still unable to comprehend what was happening. People were screaming, sobbing, and lying still on the ground, staining the grass an ugly crimson. Children clung to their respective parents like koalas clinging to the tops of their home trees in a forest fire.

Aiofe pulled her dad's rucksack off the bench and slung it over her shoulders. She stumbled blindly away from the bench and towards the main road. She looked back at the bench where they had been sitting, there was bullet hole in a diagonal line across the back, the metal was buckled; it looked beaten and bruised and sorry.

Aiofe turned her back and walked away, with a sense of emptiness. Now wasn't the time to examine her feelings on the situation. Right now, she needed to be alone. Keeping her eyes down, she followed the crowds and the lines on the pavement. She weaved through and around crowds, dodging under and between people, who didn't even seem to notice as she barrelled past. As she turned a corner, she broke into a sprint. She passed a sign for the police station and took a right with the rest of the crowds, shouldering past the people who muttered feebly in protest.

Aiofe ran through the car park, where people were gathered, doctors and nurses working from tents and vehicles, tending the wounded and carting away the dead. Aiofe barely glanced at the organized chaos around her while she darted through the crowd. She wasn't paying attention to where her feet were taking her, which is why she grunted suddenly as she slammed into something hard. She looked up to find a man in a police uniform, wearing a bulletproof vest and sporting a baton strapped to his belt. The star attached to his jacket told her he was the Chief of Police, Charlie Swan. Aiofe noted with a faint sense of relief that she recognized him; he was the officer that had helped her after the encounter with Reuben .

He put a hand on her shoulder and peered at her. "Aiofe Harley? Joseph's daughter?"

She nodded.

"Where's your father?"

She kept her eyes fixed on his badge as she spoke. "He's dead. Lyingin a puddle of his own blood on the ground in the park."

Chief Swan blinked and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a packet of tissues. "Better clean up your face before someone thinks you're injured and throws you to the next available doctor."

She took a tissue from the packet he held out to her and scrubbed every essence of someone else's being from her face, wincing at the scarlet-smeared handkerchief as she finished.

"Aiofe, is there anybody there for you at home?"

She looked up at him, and shook her head. "I don't mind though, I don't need anyone."

He took the dirty tissue from her and looked into her eyes. "Aiofe, the last time we spoke I had just found you in the woods after had just been raped, and if I remember correctly, you needed someone then," he nodded to her enlarged stomach, "And you can't handle that on your own, can you?"  
"What are you trying to say? That you want to put me in an orphanage to be shipped away to some complete strangers who want to pretend that I belong to them? That I should give up my baby? That you don't think I can do this?" The words gushed from Aiofe's mouth before she even considered them. She gestured to her stomach. Tears were suddenly streaming down her face and falling onto her t-shirt.

The man shook his head, "No, Aiofe. You're a strong girl; I know you can deal with a baby. I just don't want to see you have to go though it alone. Nor do I want to see you so upset. You know, there are plenty of local people who would look after you, one of your father's friends perhaps?" His voice was gruff, but Aiofe could hear the good intent behind the words. Still, she was a little ill at ease.

She shuffled her feet,  
"Joseph doesn't HAVE friends. And who would want me once they find out that I'm pregnant with a rape baby?" She spoke harshly, "I can do this alone, as you said, I'm strong."

He put a hand on her arm, and spoke before she could throw it off. "Aiofe, you're 15. You can't live alone, you can't. You've got no choice in the matter. But I'll tell you what, go and sit in my office and when I'm done here, I'll join you and we can discuss your options." Before she could argue, he pressed a set of keys into her hand and pointed to the one for his office.

Aiofe couldn't help but snap back once more, bitterness swelling beneath her ribs. "But you just said I don't have a choice, now you speak of options?" She hated her voice for wobbling. Sniffing, she hurriedly walked away before he could answer, dragging a hand across her cheeks to angrily wipe off the weak tears.

Aiofe walked inside the building, looking around with a detached sort of interest. It was new and, well, round. The seats were round, the tables were round, the reception desk was round, even the room was a circular shape.

She quickly found the Chief's office and let herself in, key fumbling in the lock as she struggled to get in before someone questioned her presence.

Inside, the office was well-decorated, with a brown leather couch, an oak desk and beige walls. Aiofe took a seat on the couch and dumped the rucksack on the floor. It landed with a dull _thud. _She sighed and peeked out the large window. Chief Swan was talking to a tall, middle-aged man with blonde hair and light eyes. He was wearing loafers and smart trousers under his doctor's uniform.

They seemed to be talking very intently about something, tense mouths and serious eyes. The Chief pointed to the office window and when the other man looked over, Aiofe ducked behind the curtain to avoid eye contact.

Feeling the lengthy day bearing down on her, Aiofe lay down on the couch so nobody could see her and studied the pictures on the walls. Most of them were newspaper clippings that were too far away for her to read the words, but there were pictures of police cars and officers, and children. There was a photograph on the desk of the Chief in a tuxedo beside a woman in a white wedding dress. Chief Swan looked noticeably younger and happier, with less frown lines and crinkles around his smiling eyes. His wife was stunning, with her hair curled and pinned back with blue pins, and a fiercely happy grin touched her lips.

Aiofe was reminded of the photos she has seen of her mom, with kind, gentle eyes and a warm smile. She suddenly ached for something she'd never had. With these sombre thoughts occupying her mind, she soon fell asleep on the comfortablecouch, to the muffled background noise of people talking and children crying outside.

She was woken by someone gently shaking her shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open and came to rest on the Chief's worried face. His eyes wore bags of exhaustion and faint frown lines creased his face. "Aiofe, do you want me to give you a lift to your fathers' house to collect your things?" He asked with gentle concern.  
"What? Why, where am I going?" Aiofe asked blearily.

He sat on the couch beside her and looked earnestly into her eyes. "I'm not allowed to let you go home and be alone. I don't actually have anywhere for you to go, but I realise you're probably traumatized from seeing what you saw today. Aiofe, would you like to come home with me and stay for tonight?"

She blinked. "I'm not sure. Although; I don't have a choice, do I?" The words tasted sour in her mouth, but she ploughed on. "Okay, I'll go. Do I grab all my stuff from my dad's or just some clothes?"

Evidently, her attempts at bravado weren't as solid as she had hoped.

Chief Swan shot her a comforting smile. "Don't look so worried, Aiofe. You won't be alone with a horrible old man in a house. My girlfriend lives with me, and her seventeen year old son lives with me too."

Aiofe's eyes flickered to the photograph and back to the man. Girlfriend? It didn't fit with what she saw, but she stopped herself from asking about it when she realized he was still talking.

"Why would you need all of your belongings? You can get all of your things when we have more permanent arrangements made."

She nodded and looked at the clock. 7:48 PM.  
"It's that time already?" Aiofe was startled. She'd been unconscious for a good few hours.

He looked over at the clock and nodded. "It probably went fast because you were sleeping. Are you ready to go? I don't know about you, but I'm starving." Charlie stood up and she followed, grabbing her bag on her way to the door. Together they walked out of the office and towards his cruiser.

**Just in case anyone was wondering, Aiofe is pronounced eef-ah, and Reuben in pronounces Roo-ben. **

**Thank-you for reading. Please review. **

**~Skylair xoxo**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to everyone who read chapter 1, here is chapter 2, and thanks to my beta and friend, Laura, who was halfway through beta-ing this chapter when her laptop broke. So this is un-beta-d, but I've spend hours looking through it myself and it's as good as it's going to get. **

**Listening to:  
Someday I'll Be Saturday Night – Bon Jovi  
A Thousand Years – Christina Perry  
Hear Me – Imagine Dragons  
Amsterdam - Imagine Dragons**

The cruiser turned off the road and rolled onto a driveway, the tires _crunching _on the gravel like someone rather noisily eating crisps. Aiofe looked up, away from her fingernails and smiled inwardly, Chief Swan's house was big, two storeys tall with a wooden exterior painted cream, and it has a sheltered porch at the front, proudly sat on which, was a bench swing. The chief parked his cruiser beside an old, cherry red Volvo saloon. He cut the engine and looked at Aiofe, she didn't know what to say, his house was amazing, and, compared to her fathers' house, huge. She looked at the Volvo again, "Uh, nice car." Chief Swan chuckled wholeheartedly, "That? It's not mine, thankfully, it's my girlfriends." He reached into the passenger foot well and pulled out Aiofe's rucksack, slinging it over his shoulder as he stepped out the car.

Aiofe untangled herself from the seatbelt and heaved the door open. She pushed it shut behind her and jogged to catch up with Chief Swan. Together, they walked down the well-groomed, weed-less path and across the patio. He pulled the front door open and held it for her. She smiled her thanks to him and stepped through the threshold. Charlie closed the door behind them and bent down to remove his shoes, once they were off, he placed them in the corner, under the coat rack, and he then hung up his coat and gun. Aiofe look around for a chair to sit in so she could take her shoes off, she settled for the stairs and sat on them and began to untie her battered old converse. She looked up to see the Chief trying smiling sympathetically at her. She returned his smile and put her shoes under the coat rack, where they looked very out of place amongst his work shoes and expensive-looking trainers and high heels.

She followed him through a door and into the kitchen, it smelled amazing. "So you're finally home. You should have called me, I was worried about you!" The chief smiled,  
"I'm sorry, dear. I was incredibly busy with the shooting at the park. And you might want to grab an extra plate, we have company." The woman that was standing over the stove turned around, she was flushed from cooking and some loose tendrils of hair were escaping the bun she'd tied them back in, the very picture of domestic bliss. She smiled at Aiofe. "This is Aiofe, I told her she could stay with us tonight. Her father was killed today in the park." The woman's face instantly morphed into a mask of worry and care for the young girl. She pulled a plate from the cupboard beside her and placed it on the counter. "Oh, sweetheart. Go and make yourself at home, dinner will be ready in twenty minutes. Charlie, take her bag upstairs and show her where she'll sleep. And, since I haven't been introduced yet, I'm Sue." Aiofe smiled politely at Sue,  
"Thank-you." Charlie patted her arm and motioned for her to follow. He led the way up the stairs and down the hallway. He stopped in front of a door and pushed it open. "This is my daughters' room. She moved out a few years ago, but she still comes over sometimes." Aiofe stepped into the room; the walls were a light blue and covered in pictures and posters. The furniture was a light oak colour and the duvet cover was blue with white spots. There was a window seat covered in plush green cushions.

He put Aiofe's bag on the desk chair and turned to leave the room. "The bathroom is directly across the hall. I'll leave you to get settled and freshen up if you like. Just come downstairs whenever you're ready." She nodded and sat down on the edge of the bed. She reached over to her bag and pulled out some clean clothes. She slipped out of her dust-covered jeans and jumper, before pulling on another pair of jeans. They were tight around her hips and enlarged stomach. She looked down at her stomach and prodded it, it was hard. She sighed and rubbed her side, and in reply, she felt a slight flutter. It was faint; and just felt like gas. But it was definitely there. She grinned, "Junior, you're not supposed to kick mommy. It's rude." She heard a soft chuckle from behind her and turned to see Sue standing in the doorway, with a quilt in her arms. Aiofe blushed and ducked her head. "I thought you might need this, it's supposed to be cold tonight, and this old house isn't the warmest." She spread the quilt over the top of the bed and patting it flat. "Dinner should be ready about now." She smiled at Aiofe, who returned it and followed her out of the room.

In the kitchen the Chief was setting the table and serving dinner as they entered the room. He turned to Aiofe, "Aiofe, could you go and tell Seth that dinner is ready? He's in the living room." He pointed to white, sliding doors and Aiofe wandered through them. There was a teenage boy sitting on the couch, playing a video game. Aiofe stood behind the couch and coughed, "Uh, dinner's ready." He paused his game and smiled at her,  
"Thanks." He jogged past her and into the kitchen, where he went to the stove and pulled out garlic bread. He cut it and put it onto a platter before placing it in the centre of the table. He sat down and patted the seat next to him, and nodded to Aiofe. She walked over and sat next to him.

Chief Swan scooped some lasagne onto a plate and placed it in front of Aiofe. She nodded her thanks and took a piece of garlic bread. She took a bite of her food and smiled. "This is amazing. What is it?" Sue beamed at the compliment to her cooking,  
"It's lasagne, it's an Italian dish."

*%*

"Aiofe? Would you like some ice cream with your pie?" Aiofe nodded and Seth scooped some ice cream into her bowl.  
"Thank-you." She smiled at him. He took his seat next to her again and they began eating their pudding. Everybody sat around the table, eating as a family and discussing their day, Aiofe couldn't help but feel like a red t-shirt in a drawer full of blue jeans, this whole thing was completely alien to her, she's never had a proper family and the amount of love and respect that encased the dining table surprised her. It was something she'd never experienced before, but what surprised her more was that she liked it, she liked the atmosphere, and she liked being treated and respected as a person.

*%*

Aiofe had started to feel relaxed and comfortable around the Chief's family; they were really nice and treated her with great kindness. But the his home was the polar opposite to her father's, the atmosphere her was warm and friendly, and the house was large, spacious and nicely decorated. The couch was incredibly comfortable; Aiofe sank into the cushions and watched Seth play his game. She smiled at the expression his face wore as he concentrated.

Sue sat on the other couch knitting, and Charlie sat beside her, typing quickly on a laptop. Sue finished her last stich and reached behind her, pulling a huge pile of wool out of a box, she laid it flat on the coffee table and smoothed it out. It was a patchwork blanket, made out of lots of squares, all of them were different colours and they all had a different pattern. But there was one square missing, Sue placed her freshly made piece into the hole and picked up and needle and thread. Aiofe watched, mesmerised, as she sewed the blanket together.

Sue sewed all around the new square and tied off when it was attached, making sure the stiches wouldn't come undone. She leaned back in her chair and tapped her boyfriend on his knee. Charlie peered over the top of his laptop and smiled brightly, pride consuming his face. "It looks great." Sue nodded,  
"I don't know why I finished it, because it was pointless. What am I even going to do with it? It's too small to go on the bed and there's no little Adam to sleep in it." She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. The Chief wrapped his arm around her in a half hug and kissed her temple tenderly. "Don't get upset over it, there is nothing you could have done. But I do know what you could do with it, if you're willing." She looked at him and he nodded in the direction of Aiofe, who was siting Indian style on the couch beside Seth, with her hands on her enlarged stomach, watching the TV. Sue smiled at him stood up, "I'm getting tired, so I'm just going to go upstairs for a while. Seth, you better be upstairs in an hour, you have school tomorrow." She turned and walked slowly up the staircase.

Aiofe sat on the sofa for another minute before following Sue's lead, "I'm tired out. I might as well just head to bed." The chief smiled at her, "Goodnight Aiofe. If you need anything, please don't be afraid to ask me." She nodded and turned in the direction of the stairs. "Night, shorty." Seth laughed at her.  
"Night, Seth." She grinned.

She wandered into her room and stopped in front of the mirror. Although she felt completely different, she didn't look completely different. There definitely was a baby bump sticking out of her stomach, but she still looked like herself. She still had her dark, curly hair and her dark eyes, and she was still pale, and still skinny and short. She sighed and yanked the bobble out of her hair, it got stuck and she worked to untangle it. Once it was free, she set it on the desk and brushed through her hair with her hands, when her fingers caught on a tug her curls bounced like springs.

There was a knock at the door and Aiofe's head snapped up. "Come in." The door swung open a bit and Sue poked her head around the frame. Aiofe smiled at her and she walked into the room, in her arms a bumble of neatly folded, fluffy, white towels. She placed the towels on the foot of the bed, "Just in case you wanted to take a shower or a bath. And I would like you to have this." She pulled the blanket she had been knitting from behind her back and held it out to Aiofe. Aiofe shook her head, "I couldn't, and you've clearly put a lot of hard work into that, so you must have made it for a reason. Use it for that reason." Sue sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed, she patted the space next to her as a motion for Aiofe to sit. "You're right Aiofe. I made the blanket for my sister; she has a baby a month ago. When she told me she was pregnant I started to make it, and I was going to give it to the baby when he or she was christened. But the baby, Adam, was born a month early and didn't survive. When I learned this, I stopped working on the blanket, even though at that time it was almost finished. But about a week ago, I found it behind the couch, and I decided to finish it. I had no idea what I was going to do with it, but I finished it. And I am one of those people who believe everything happens for a reason, and my reason for finishing the blanket, unknown to me then, I think might be so I can give it to you, for your baby. Aiofe, I would be honoured if you would accept this; it would mean a lot to me to know that it has a purpose." Her voice was laced with sadness and her eyes were damp with tears. Aiofe took the blanket from the woman and smiled in what she hoped was a comforting way. "Thank-you, so much, for everything. I mean that. Nobody has ever been as kind or as friendly towards me as you, it makes me feel loved and cared for and safe, and those feeling have made realise something. I realised that those feelings are what I want my baby to feel, and I'm the one who's actions ensure whether that happens or not." Sue nodded,  
"Sweetheart, I know. And it's a lot of stress and responsibility for one girl. But you should always know that I'm here for you, and I will try to help you, all you have to do is ask. Now, it's getting late, I'm going to head to bed, and I suggest that you do the same".

*%*

Aiofe's eyes fluttered open and flittered around her surroundings. There was blues, and greens, and whites and large oak furniture. She was still in the Chief's daughter's room. She could hear people moving about in other room, their bedrooms, she assumed. She sat up, and as she did so, she felt a lurch in her stomach. She scrambled out of the bed, yanking her feet free of the blankets. She crashed through the bedroom door and leaped across the hall and fumbled clumsily with handle on the bathroom door. The pulled it down and shoved hard against the door, it flew open and she could have jumped for joy. Her stomach lurched again as she knelt in front of the ceramic bowl. The walls seemed to be moving. The sides of her mouth were starting to water and she could taste last night's dinner all over again. She gagged, her throat burned and the contents of her stomach _sp__lashed _into the toilet water. She spewed again and again until her stomach was empty and her ribs were beginning to hurt. She reached up and _flushed_ the toilet. She leant her head against the cold tiles on the side of the bathtub and closed her eyes.

"You feelin' any better now?" Her eyes flickered up until they reached Seth's worried face. She nodded,  
"Yeah, I feel much better. I'm just tired; I've not quite woken up yet." She smiled sheepishly at him. He reached out a hand to help her up and she stared at it for a minute before accepting it. He pulled her to her feet easily, wrapping his arm around her waist to support her once she was up. He led her back to her room, "I was actually sent to see if you're up. Charlie wants to take you to the station with him today. He plans to leave in an hour and a half." Aiofe nodded,  
"Thanks. Would anyone mind if I took a shower?" Seth laughed,  
"No. I'm sure nobody will mind. I've got to go and get ready for school, but I'll see you when you come downstairs." He patted her arm and walked out of the room.

She grabbed the towel from the desk and headed towards the bathroom.

*%*

Aiofe wandered down the stairs, clad in faded grey jeans with a hole in the left knee and a black and white over-sized Thor t-shirt. Her wet hair hung in loose curls around her shoulders and down her back. Seth pulled out a seat for her at the table beside him. She sat on it and smiled her thanks at him. He passed her a plate with a stack of 4 brown, circular things on it. She leaned towards him and whispered, "What are those?" He looked at her with a look of confusion and disbelief, but, seeing her face, he realised she was being serious. He burst into a fit of laughter and Aiofe blushed. He looked at her, "They're pancakes, Shorty. The best damned food you'll ever taste. Eat up." He put some golden syrup onto her pancakes and handed her a fork and knife.

The chief finished his breakfast and smiled at Aiofe, "You ready to go, kid?" Aiofe nodded and swallowed the last of her pancakes. Sue stood up, "No Charlie, she is not ready to go. You can't go out with wet hair Aiofe, especially not in winter, you'll catch your death. Come on upstairs and I'll dry it for you." She piled up the dishes and handed them to Charlie before starting up the stairs and motioning for Aiofe to follow. Aiofe scrambled out of her seat and up the stairs after the kind woman.

Aiofe followed Sue into her room, the walls and the furniture were a warm chocolate colour and the bed clothes, the carpet and the curtains were cream. It had a nice, homey feeling to it. There was a picture on one of the bedside tables, of a pretty brunette in a wedding dress, standing beside the Chief. It was the same photo that Aiofe had noticed in the Chief's office the previous day. Sue saw her looking at the picture, "That's the Chief's daughter on her wedding day. Her name is Bella."  
"She's really pretty." Sue nodded,  
"She is. This is his granddaughter." She pointed to a picture of a child with long, curly red hair and brown eyes, smiling brightly. Sue patted the back-less stool beside the desk and Aiofe sat in it. Sue ran a brush through the girl's hair, untangling it and freeing it from tugs and snags. She then blow dried it and brushed it so that it sat nicely. "Your hair is so long." Aiofe twirled one of her dark locks around her finger, "it looks short though, it's like springs." Sue smiled at her and passed her something grey. "Here, wear this. It's one of Seth's hoodies. He said you can borrow it so you don't get cold. I put your hoody into the washing machine and it isn't dry yet." Aiofe unfolded the hoodie; it was lined with fur or wool and had the words, "Super dry Japan" across the front of it. She shrugged into it and zipped it up halfway.

When Aiofe had her shoes and was ready to go Chief Swan was already standing by the door in full uniform, even with his gun belt on. She followed him to the car and climbed into the passenger's door. The Chief's car was already running and warmed up. Someone had already scraped the ice from the windows. They reversed out of the drive and were on their way.

Charlie sat behind his desk, sorting out the huge stack of paperwork that had appeared since he had last been in his office. Aiofe was kneeling on the couch, watching people come in and out of the station, she mentally commented on their cars and their choice of clothes, and trying to guess who they were, what they were like and why they were here. A shiny black Mercedes pulled into the parking lot and perked just outside the window. Aiofe sat back to make it less obvious that she was watching. A tall man with blonde hair stepped out of the drivers' side of the car and a man with red hair stepped out of the passengers' side.

She recognised the blonde man as the same man that Chef Swan had been talking to the previous day. She moved herself so she was sitting normally on the sofa and began tugging on loose threads on one of the bright cushions that littered the sofa. "Aiofe, would you please sit still. Your fidgeting is distracting."  
"Don't be harsh on the kid Charlie. Watching you do paperwork must be very boring. So boring, in fact, that she has resorted to stalking people from your office window." Aiofe's head snapped up, she hadn't even heard the men come into the office. The Chief chuckled, "Take a seat." He pointed to the sofa and Aiofe leaped from it and went to stand against the wall. "Where are you going, Aiofe?"  
"I was just giving them a seat." Aiofe blushed and looked at her converse clad feet. The two men sat on the couch beside each other, leaving half of the couch for Aiofe. She couldn't help but think that they were a guy couple that the Chief was going to let adopt her, because they couldn't have children of their own. She tried not to laugh out loud at the idea of living with gay men. What if she overheard them in the bedroom? Aiofe chocked out a laugh and had to cover it up with a cough. "Aiofe, this is Carlisle and his son, Edward. Gentlemen, this is Aiofe." The man, Carlisle, smiled kindly and stuck out his hand for Aiofe to shake. She stepped forwards cautiously and shook his hand, she noticed that he had a strong grip and muscled hands, but her was gentle, and held her hand like it was something precious. This man must work with his hands. He gestured to the empty space on the sofa next to him and Aiofe felt pressured to sit, so she sat.

Chief Swan brought out a large file filled with lots of sheets of paper, all different colours and sizes. "This is Aiofe's file. It contains everything, birth certificates, death certificates of family members, information on family members, school reports, reports about arrests on family members, everything." He handed the file to Carlisle, who opened it and started to look through it, not missing a single piece of paper. His son read over his shoulder. They discussed in hushed whispers, too low for Aiofe to interpret what they were saying.

They had been reading for just over half an hour when something made them stop, and Aiofe knew instantly what it was. They were almost at the end of the stack of papers. She wrapped her arms around her stomach protectively and shot the Chief a worried look. In return he gave her a look that said "It's okay, just trust them". She leaned back in the couch and let her eyes wander around the room.

Carlisle _snapped_ the folder shut when he was done reading and handed it back to Charlie. "That's one heck of a life story you have there, Aiofe." Aiofe nodded and shuffled her feet around on the plush carpet. Edward leaned around his father and looked at her, "So, how far along are you?" Aiofe looked down at her bump and shrugged,  
"I don't really know." He arched a copper eyebrow at her,  
"What do you mean? Didn't your doctor tell you how far along you are?" Aiofe looked down and shuffled uncomfortably around in her seat. "I, well, I've never been." The three men's faces showed their surprise. Carlisle turned his body so he was facing her, "If you don't mind me asking, why you didn't go for a check-up?"  
"I was too scared to, in case Joseph found out, because I knew people would judge me, and because I was afraid, afraid there might be something wrong with Junior." She blushed and ducked her head to hide it,  
"There's no need to be embarrassed. Those are perfectly rational fears. But I'll tell you what, if you're up to it, on Tuesday I'll take you to the hospital with me and we can make sure Junior is okay, and I might even be able to get an ultrasound machine." He smiled comfortingly at Aiofe and she beamed back at him, "You mean I could get to see Junior?" He nodded.

"Time has flown; it's 2 O'clock already. We've missed lunch. Aiofe, are you hungry? I'll go and see what I can find in the fridge." Chief Swan disappeared out of the office, leaving Aiofe sitting on the couch alone with Carlisle and Edward. She rubbed circles on her stomach and hummed gently, and in response she felt a small nudge. At the sensation, a smile spread across her face, filling every crevice and making her glow. "I think Junior just kicked me." She whispered it, to nobody in particular, but it was heard by everybody in the otherwise silent room. Charlie appeared again with a plate of crackers with cheese on them and grapes, "It's not really much of a meal, but it's all we have. I'll take you out for dinner in a while. Carlisle, would you like to come with us?"  
"I would love to Charlie, but we have to go to an engagement party this evening, which includes a fancy dinner, and my wife would kill me if I ate dinner beforehand. But if you like, we can go with you, and leave for the party straight after?" The chief nodded, "What time shall we say? Around six?" Carlisle nodded and pulled his phone out of his pocket.  
"I'll just phone my wife and make sure it's okay." He stepped outside the office door and closed it softly behind him.

*%*

Aiofe stepped out of the Police cruiser and pulled Seth's hoody tighter around her as protection against the sting of the cold. They hurried into the restaurant, where Carlisle and Edward were already waiting for them at a table, Carlisle had brushed his hair so it was swept back and his tuxedo was crease-less and crisp, Edward's hair was tousled like it had been earlier and he was also wearing a crease-less tuxedo. Aiofe and Charlie took the two seats opposite them, "I feel very under-dressed now." Charlie grumbled, he straightened his police uniform and sat down. Carlisle laughed, "If it's any comfort to you, I fell very over-dressed."

A waiter came over to take their orders, Charlie ordered without having even glanced at the menu, "Could I have a cheeseburger, fried and cola please. Aiofe, what would you like?" Aiofe blinked and looked at the menu,  
"Uh, I'll just have the same as you." The waiter nodded and scribbled their order down on her notepad,  
"Your food should be ready soon." She walked away back behind the bar.

Carlisle and Charlie were soon immersed in an enthusiastic discussion about something and Edward was politely staring out of the window. Aiofe slouched down in her chair and fiddled with the lace on the table cloth. She felt herself zoning out from the world around her and did nothing to stop it. She watched as her finger nails cut through strands of lace to make a design in the repetitive squares on the lace. She felt a tap on her should and looked up to see three curious faces watching her. She smiled sheepishly. "Food's here."

Aiofe ate as politely as she could, she used all the manners that she knew and she was careful to hold her cutlery in the right hand and hold it the right way. She knew that Charlie was trying to persuade Carlisle to adopt her, and she liked him, he seemed nice. And even though she didn't want to be forced upon him and his family, she did want whatever is best for her baby, and at the moment, a family seemed to be that thing.

*%*

Carlisle parked his Mercedes in the garage and shut the garage door. He walked up the stairs to the main house and found his family sitting in the living room, around the TV. He walked towards the stairs and motioned for his wife to follow; she stood up from her space on the couch and followed him into their bedroom. "So, how did it go?"  
"It went well, actually. Aiofe is really nice, and Charlie seems to really believe that we are her only option, or a home. But I can tell that he doesn't want to see her g into a home." She nodded,  
"And what did you think of her?"  
"She's a good kid. She's polite, and friendly. But I think she's more pregnant that he let on. I persuade her to come to work with me on Tuesday so we can find out."  
"You care about her. I can tell, you wouldn't have asked her to go the hospital with you if you didn't. And the way you speak about her. Do you think we should adopt her?" He sighed and sat down on the bed.  
"I don't know. She needs someone to look after her and help her, and we could do that. But what if she gets hurt? She is only human. I don't want to see her get hurt, Esme." Esme took his hand in hers.  
"And have you asked your children what they think of this?" He nodded.  
"Edward says that he likes her and she's nice. He thinks he would be willing to give her a chance." She nodded,  
"That's all I need to hear. I want to meet her."

**Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it, please leave a review. **

**COMING UP:  
Aiofe meets Esme.  
Aiofe and Seth talk.  
Important decisions are made. **

**Don't forget to review! ****  
Skylair xoxo**


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